


you can count on me

by Fives (janfives90)



Series: this house, a home [2]
Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:07:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21523579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janfives90/pseuds/Fives
Summary: “What on Earth do you think you’re doing?”Connor and Emma exchange a glance. “Well,” Connor says slowly, “I was thinking of maybe helping Mom finish these Christmas lights before I came inside and spent the rest of my day telling you how wonderful you are and how you’re my favorite mother.” As he finishes speaking, he gives Alyssa a wide smile.Emma rolls her eyes. “Suck up.”
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Series: this house, a home [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1638247
Comments: 6
Kudos: 62





	you can count on me

_“Hey!_ What did I say about going up on the roof when there’s snow?”

Emma Nolan-Greene peeks her head sheepishly out over the gutter, looking down at her wife as she glares upwards with her hands on her hips. “Don’t do it unless there’s enough on the ground to break your fall?”

“Oh, God.” Alyssa Nolan-Greene sighs heavily and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Please, just tell me you’re going to do this quickly. But _safely!”_

“When have you ever known me not to be safe on a job?” Emma holds up her hand before Alyssa can speak. “Don’t answer that.”

Alyssa scoffs. “I was gonna say.” She adjusts her scarf. “Do you know when Connor’s getting here? I was going to make him a hot chocolate.”

Emma pauses before turning her head, looking at her son as he tries not to burst out laughing. “I don’t know. When are you getting here?”

_“Connor Nolan-Greene!”_

He shifts forward until he’s next to Emma and gives Alyssa an apologetic wave. “Hi, Mama.”

“What on Earth do you think you’re doing?”

Connor and Emma exchange a glance. “Well,” Connor says slowly, “I was thinking of maybe helping Mom finish these Christmas lights before I came inside and spent the rest of my day telling you how wonderful you are and how you’re my favorite mother.” As he finishes speaking, he gives Alyssa a wide smile.

Emma rolls her eyes. “Suck up.”

Alyssa sighs and shakes her head. “Every time I find a gray hair I know exactly why I’m getting them, you know that? Every time.”

* * *

**CONNOR (OFF CAMERA)**

Okay. I want you to tell me your favorite thing about Christmas.

**EMMA**

This is for a school project? You’re going to school for architecture.

**CONNOR (OFF CAMERA)**

Mom. Work with me here.

**EMMA**

Uh, okay. I guess my favorite thing is when you come home.

**CONNOR (OFF CAMERA)**

You don’t need to give me the _mom_ answer.

**EMMA**

It’s the answer! You coming home, and getting to eat cookies without your mama yelling at me.

**CONNOR (OFF CAMERA)**

That’s much better.

* * *

“These aren’t as fun now that you don’t slice them yourself,” Emma comments as she watches Connor set patterned cookies onto a tray. “I still like the reindeer and trees and whatnot, they’re good cookies, but they were more fun when they were harder.”

“Yes, honey, because they were so much more difficult before,” Alyssa says, kissing her on the cheek as she walks past.

Connor picks up one of the cooled, cooked cookies from a previous tray, handing one piece to the one-year-old golden retriever wiggling at his feet. “Good girl, Crunch. You’ve been so patient, yes you have.” He walks over and sits down on the floor in front of the dog bed in the corner, gently stroking the head of the fifteen-year-old goldendoodle curled up watching them. “You’re a good girl, too, Nug.” He gives her the other half of the cookie. He leans down and kisses her snout, laughing as Crunch takes the opportunity to lick the back of his ear.

The back door slams open, making Emma wince, and a whirlwind of curly black hair rushes into the house. “Hey! Gross, Connor’s home. Ash’s coming over later for the gingerbread house game. We’re going to watch _You’ve Got Mail_ afterward so I’m claiming the TV. Oh, and can you order pizza? Great, thanks!”

Emma and Alyssa blink at each other as the whirlwind disappears upstairs without taking a breath of downstairs air.

“You know,” Alyssa says dryly, “I feel like I remember having a daughter, but that can’t be possible.”

Emma shakes her head and sighs. “Seventeen-year-olds.”

“I blame you.” Alyssa taps a finger against Emma’s lips. “When she was little, she was mine. Patient. Focused. Now that she’s older, she and Connor are _both_ exactly like you. I’m fighting a losing battle here.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Connor asks from the floor, in the process of wrestling the younger of their two dogs.

“Nothing, sweetheart. Can you put the cookies in the oven?”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot.”

Emma grins as Alyssa covers her face with her hand.

* * *

**CONNOR (OFF CAMERA)**

Do you ever get tired of trying to get this whole house together for the holidays? People don’t usually drive down this way; doesn’t it get annoying?

**ALYSSA**

Sometimes, I suppose. But I love this house. It means something to me, it stands for so much more than I could ever describe. It’s never work to me to make it look a certain way. I’d take care of this place for the rest of my life, just like I’d take care of you and Aspen. It’s a part of me.

* * *

Alyssa sets the table up with various sets of gingerbread house kits and extra decorations, ruffling Connor’s brown hair as he follows her and helps. “Thanks, kiddo.”

“No problem.” He glances up as there’s a soft knock on the door, and he sets down the box he’s carrying to answer it.

“Oh, hi Connor!” the teenager on the porch says with a polite smile. He looks down as a husky pushes into the house and immediately starts playing with Crunch. “Pen told me you were coming home soon.”

“Uh, hi, Ashley.” He steps back and lets her into the house. “How’s school goi-”

The girl runs out of the kitchen, jogging up the steps towards Aspen’s room.

“Well. Alright.” Connor goes back to the table, where Alyssa is just barely holding back a laugh. “Okay, I have _not_ been gone that long. When did Ashley Gonzales grow up? Jesus, she looks more like Aunt Kaylee now than she did when she was a kid, and I didn’t think that was possible.”

Alyssa shoots an affectionate grin towards the stairs. “I know; it’s crazy. You’re all so big.” She feels her eyes start to get watery, and a panicked look forms on Connor’s face.

“Oh, God. No. Please. Please don’t start crying. I don’t know what to do when girls cry.”

Alyssa lightly smacks his arm. “You grew up in a house with three girls. Figure it out.”

“That’s the thing, though. I grew up in a house with three girls, so when they start crying I just do whatever they want.”

“Aw.” Alyssa pats his cheek. “If you like women you’re going to do so well in a relationship with one.”

Connor rolls his eyes and sighs. “Mama.”

Alyssa laughs and kisses his cheek before going back to setting up the table.

* * *

**CONNOR (OFF CAMERA)**

What’s your favorite Christmas present you ever got?

**ASHLEY**

This is a weird assignment, Connor.

**CONNOR (OFF CAMERA)**

Can you just go with it, Gonzales?

**ASHLEY**

Oh, fine. I guess my favorite was Pom-Pom.

**CONNOR (OFF CAMERA)**

The husky? I thought she was for Aunt Shelby.

**ASHLEY**

Mom can claim that the dog is hers, but I got to name her, so. Whose dog is she really?

* * *

“Oh, God, this is the worst house I’ve ever built,” Emma laughs as she struggles to attach two walls together with royal icing. “I’m going to fire myself at this rate.” She looks across the table, where Ashley and Aspen are working on a gingerbread house together, delicately decorating with a neat white piping. “Hey, that’s pretty good, girls.”

“I want to do design like my mom,” Ashley says, a note of pride in her voice.

Aspen snickers. “Which one? Because one of them can’t even design the alphabetical ordering of her files.”

Ashley elbows her playfully and leans over, using the piping bag to put icing on Aspen’s nose.

 _“Rude!”_ Aspen gasps.

They shove at each other for a bit, Aspen trying to return the favor, until Alyssa gives a sharp whistle. “Alright,” she says with a small smile. “That’s enough. Go clean up.”

Both girls give Alyssa sheepish grins and get up, going to the upstairs bathroom.

Emma frowns a bit as she watches them go, thinking. “Huh,” she mutters under her breath. She shakes her head, sets the thought aside, and tries to add gumdrops to her gingerbread house as Christmas lights.

* * *

Alyssa folds up the tablecloth she was using underneath the gingerbread chaos and frowns as she sees Emma and Connor standing side by side at the island, eating cookies and whispering to each other. She sets the tablecloth down and joins them.

“What’s going on?” she asks quietly.

“We’re having a debate,” Emma replies.

“About what?”

Connor nods into the living room, where Ashley and Aspen are sitting next to each other on the floor, watching a movie on the television. “Whether Pen has a crush on Ashley.”

“They’re very good friends,” Emma says. “But then again.” She gives Alyssa a smirky look. “So were we.”

Connor groans. “Okay, I get it, you’re in love. There’s a whole damn book about you two and the business. _Unruly Hearts: Building Love Behind the Scenes,_ buy now! Leave me alone.”

Emma puts an arm around him and squeezes him. “Son. I can be _so_ obnoxiously in love with your mother that you’ll never want to come home from school. Don’t tempt me.”

He squirms a bit, trying not to laugh. “Mama, what’s your vote?”

“What, on Aspen? No shit she has a crush on Ashley. She has since they were fourteen.”

Emma and Connor both freeze, staring at her. “Wait, you’re serious?

“Incredibly serious. It was obvious.”

Emma pouts. “It was not.”

Alyssa pats her gently on the cheek. “Oh, honey. I appreciate your observation skills. They’re just not very good when it comes to other people’s relationships.”

“She’s seventeen; she doesn’t need a relationship.” Emma squints at Connor. “You don’t need one, either.”

Connor blinks at her. “Mom, I’m twenty-one.”

Emma shakes her head. “Nope. That’s not a real number. Oh, Jesus.”

Alyssa gently pulls Connor towards her and pats him on the shoulder. “Maybe you should go find something to do, baby. I think your mom needs a few minutes to go through an existential crisis.”

Connor laughs and kisses her on the cheek. “Good luck.”

* * *

“I’m taking the television, kiddo,” Connor says as he walks into the living room, carrying his laptop.

“Really, Connor?” Aspen weakly kicks out at his leg as he walks past.

“Yep. Really.” He meets her gaze for a moment, and she nods. He plugs the computer in and yells towards the kitchen. “Hey, Mom! Mama! Can you guys come in here for a minute?”

As they walk into the room, Emma says, “What’s going on, bud?”

“Remember when I had that camera at Thanksgiving and I was interviewing all of you? I was putting something together, so… here.”

He turns it on and sits down on the couch near Aspen, with Emma and Alyssa joining him.

It’s a compilation of footage from all their previous Christmases, including the first one after Connor was adopted and the first one after Aspen was born. Emma helping Aspen walk through her first snow near the lake, Shelby and Ashley racing Emma and Connor on sleds, the first time they had a gingerbread house night.

Interspersed are the mini interviews, and they laugh as everyone tries to answer seriously.

Emma reaches forward and ruffles her hand through Connor’s hair. “This is fun, Con. You did a good job with it.”

He holds up a hand as Aspen’s interview comes up on the screen, and he gives a sideways glance to his sister, watching as she tenses with nerves. He pats her on the leg gently. “You’re okay,” he whispers, soft enough that only she can hear.

* * *

**CONNOR (OFF CAMERA)**

What’s one thing that you didn’t think to ask for for Christmas that you’d like to have?

**ASPEN**

...Does it have to be a thing?

**CONNOR (OFF CAMERA)**

Well, no, but I’m not sure it’d be possible to get something that isn’t.

**ASPEN**

I just…

**CONNOR (OFF CAMERA)**

Pen? You okay?

**ASPEN**

The one thing I truly want is something I don’t think I’ll be able to have.

**CONNOR (OFF CAMERA)**

What do you mean?

**ASPEN**

I-I… _(whispers)_ I want to date my best friend.

**CONNOR (OFF CAMERA)**

Oh. Wow. Hold on, Aspen, I’ll turn the camera off, we can just talk about-

**ASPEN**

No, it’s okay. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to say it to her face, so. _(laughs)_ I guess this is as good of an option as any, right? I… I’m in love with Ashley, and I have no idea what to do about it.

**CONNOR (OFF CAMERA)**

We’ll figure something out. It’ll be alright. I promise.

**ASPEN**

I, uh… _(laughs)_ I guess if it has to be an object I want a car.

**CONNOR (OFF CAMERA)**

_(laughs)_ Yeah. Yeah, that’s a good option.

* * *

Emma leans back on the couch, Alyssa relaxing in her arms. “Hey,” she says quietly, giving Connor a gentle flick on the back of his ear. “You knew this whole time and you still had a debate with me?”

Connor shrugs. “She didn’t want me to tell you.”

“Fair enough, but you’re still a brat.”

He laughs. “Fair enough.”

Emma holds Alyssa closer, watching out the window onto the porch, where they can see Ashley listening patiently as a nervous Aspen talks. “What do you think?”

“I think they’ll be fine. I’ve never seen Aspen be too afraid to talk to someone before, though. She’s usually the extrovert.”

“Must really like her.” Emma gives a soft sigh and kisses the side of Alyssa’s head. “What do you-”

“Wait, look, look,” Alyssa says in an urgent whisper.

Emma turns her head and watches as Ashley gives a soft smile, tucks a strand of hair behind Aspen’s ear, and kisses her on the cheek. “Well, I’m dead,” she says mildly. “Shelby’s gonna kill me.”

Alyssa laughs and gives her a soft kiss. “I’ll protect you.”

“Great, then we’ll both be dead. Merry Christmas.”

Alyssa shakes her head slowly. “You’re such a nerd.”

“You’re the one who married me, honey.”

“You’re right.” Alyssa snuggles against her, and Emma holds her closer, kissing her on the top of the head. “And I’m so glad I did.”


End file.
